A Second Nightmare
by MsElementalDawn
Summary: Booker awakens on a train with no memory of the past events, he just knows he has a job to do. When his train crashes, he ends up where the government tosses the unwanted scraps of society, the underground city of Hephaestus. Filled with the lowest, dirtiest criminals in history, Booker needs to find Elizabeth and escape before its too late.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock or anything related. This is merely a fan fiction._

Chapter 1

The turbulence of the train shook Booker DeWitt out of his stupor, in fact he'd almost fallen out of his seat. He coughed slightly and looked around, he was the only one on the train. He turned to his right and looked out of the window in hopes of getting some ort of idea of where he was heading but there was nothing but darkness.

He rubbed his head and closed his eyes, he didn't remember getting on a train at all. Then again, he had a habit of getting drunk and blacking out, and that was one of the reasons he'd racked up such a large debt. He hoped he hadn't added to that debt, that was something he definitely didn't need. He heard something move and his eyes shot open. There was someone standing near the doors.

That person, a man, was rummaging through a box and humming an oddly familiar song. Booker squinted his eyes but couldn't focus his vision enough to see who it was, "Hey…" he called, "Where's this train going?" The humming stopped but the man looked at him. Booker squinted at the man and tried to focus, "Hello?" The man straightened up and ran into the next train car.

Booker grabbed onto a pole and pulled himself up. He didn't think twice about the odd man. He lived in New York and this was a subway, there were always freaks around. He instead stumbled over to the box and took a look at it himself. Engraved on a plaque were the words, "Property of Booker DeWitt 7th Cavalry, Wounded Knee" He frowned, he didn't remember ever owning a box like this and if he did, he definitely wouldn't bring it on a subway train with him.

He opened it and examined the contents. There were several pictures of a girl, a card, a key, and a pistol. He took the pistol out and turned it over in his hands. It gave him a little comfort to have a weapon, especially with that strange man out there.

He picked up one of the pictures. All of them depicted the same girl, but this one showed her cowering in a corner with a menacing shadow over her. The girl looked fairly young and seemed to be genuinely terrified of whatever was standing in front of her.

Next, his eyes were drawn to a card covered in hand drawn pictures. One of the pictures depicted a large man in some sort of diver suit, another of a strange bird that looked a little like an actual human, the last picture was of an octopus. Next to each picture was a number, 2-1-1.

On the other side was a note, 'An entirely new set of cards, DeWitt. An infinite set of probabilities, good luck and don't disappoint us this time.' Booker pocketed the card and searched for a way off of the train, he had no idea what was going on but a phrase kept replaying in his head, "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." No doubt that was what he came there to do. Just another job, except this one would wipe away his debt.

Booker put the card back into the box and shook his head. "What the hell is going on?" he asked himself. He pocketed key before setting down on his seat. His eyes were drawn back to the window as the train began to slow down.

"Hold on tight Mr. DeWitt." he heard someone say before everything went to hell.

He was tossed from his seat as the train began to tip over. The gun flew from his hand and landed a few feet away from him. The train twisted and screeched as it scraped along the ground. It seemed as if the entire thing had strayed from the track. Booker found himself sliding across the floor of the train as it collided with who knows what several times. He blacked out when he hit his head against the wall on one particularly rough collision.

0.o.0.o.0

He opened his eyes and gasped. He could barely see and was having trouble breathing. There was a small child in front of him and he briefly wondered if this was the girl he was looking for. "He's still alive…" the girl said. She backed away from him and sighed, "But look at his head, he'll be an angel soon." The girl walked away and the ground shook as something large followed behind her.

"Hey…" he called, "Come back…" Booker finally mustered the strength the sit up just as the two disappeared. He stretched his limbs and stood up, "What the hell…" he mumbled as he examined his surroundings. It looked to be the ruins of some sort of city. A large one at that.

"Welcome Mr. DeWitt, it's been a while." the man said.

"Who…" Booker scratched his head and tried to remember where he'd seen these people.

"He doesn't remember?"

"If you were drowned, resurrected and forced through another tear, would you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't?"

"No."

"Excuse me?" Booker interrupted, "Could you tell me where I am?"

"A city that has fallen."

"Or one that has resurfaced."

"What?" Booker blinked.

"They had to put the wreckage somewhere, I suppose."

"They could have left it down there."

"But they didn't."

"But they don't…?" the man said slowly

"That most certainly isn't right, you'd think you would have figured it out by now." the woman sighed, "This will be interesting enough as it is. Do you know what year it is?"

"1912." Booker answered, "Do you know where we are?"

"We already told you, and it isn't 1912."

"Or is it?"

"It can't be."

"We really need to do more research on this one." the man sighed, "Good luck Booker." They turned away and began to leave.

"Wait, I know you, don't I? Did you hire me?" Booker questioned, "Is someone meeting me here?"

"Oh, I would hope so." the man said thoughtfully as he walked away.

"This isn't the best place to wander alone." the woman shrugged.

"Wait!" he called. They turned the a corner and disappeared, leaving Booker alone in front of the ruins of a welcoming gate. He walked over to it and tried to pull the gates open. After a moment of struggling with them, he noticed 3 bells to the right of him. Under each bell was a picture. Booker abandoned the gates and tugged on the strings, he messed with the bells before remembering the card. The pictures under the bells matched the ones on the card. 2 divers, 1 bird, and 1 octopus.

He rang each bell according to the number next to each picture and was surprised to see the gate fly open. He didn't take the time to think, he needed to catch up with those two people and get some answers. Without a hesitation, Booker DeWitt entered the city and kept walking as the doors shut behind him.

0.o.0.o.0

I left hints, kid of, as to where Booker is. It isn't completely made up. Elizabeth will appear next chapter, this was just an introduction.

Please tell me what you think, this is my first fanfic and I need feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock or anything related. This is merely a fan fiction._

Chapter 2

The inside of the city was not as he expected. While it was mostly composed of garbage and crumbling buildings, it was still rather nice. He wiped his forehead as a thin layer of sweat began to form, it was starting to get really hot. "Hello!" he shouted. He had hoped that someone would come crawling from the crumbling buildings, but he wasn't surprised when no one did.

The town was a ghost town and he was pretty sure of that. Everything looked as if it hadn't been touched in a while. Old newspapers littered the ground and faded posters covered the buildings. Booker took a moment to examine one of the posters, "Beware the False Shepherd." he read aloud. The faded picture showed a man holding a gun to a child's head. Upon closer inspection he noticed the brand on the man's hand. "AD." he lifted his own hand and blinked, it was the same brand.

There were several more posters like that around the town, all of them showing a man doing horrible things to children. "Disgusting isn't it." Booker looked behind him and saw the man from earlier.

"What the hell is going on here? Is that supposed to be me?" Booker demanded.

"I hope not, I have trouble imagining anyone harming a child that way." the man twisted his face in disgust as he tore down a poster and crumbled it into a ball. "I can't believe they would hang such filth around town."

"People live here?" Booker asked as he looked around. The streets were completely empty and held no signs of anyone ever being there.

"I'm afraid they do, of course they aren't normal people." the man sighed, "Criminally insane murderers mostly."

"What?" Booker

"Don't worry about it, you'll do fine." the man said, "You always do."

"Who the hell are you?" Booker asked,"Did you hire me?"

"Robert Lutece, and I suppose I did hire you." he said, "The woman from earlier is my sister, Rosalind."

"Your sister? And you let her wander in a place filled with murderers?" Booker asked.

Robert looked slightly worried, "She can hold her own." but the he said it only seemed to convince him that she couldn't. "She'll be fine." he said firmly.

"You have no idea where she is, do you?" Booker asked. Robert shifted slightly before shaking his head.

"Nothing is working right down here." Robert admitted, "After we entered the city, I turned away for a second. She can be so infuriating, everything is research to her. She goes on like she doesn't care but… she has too. Because I do, and we're alike in almost everyway…" Robert took a breath and shook his head, "She should have been there when I looked back… but she wasn't. She was gone and I couldn't jump anymore."

"Jump?" Booker raised his eyebrows, "Is there something wrong with your legs?"

"No it's- I- Nevermind." Robert sighed, "You'll remember soon enough." Booker sighed as he suddenly began feeling sorry for the man. He'd lost his twin in this unknown place and seemed to be rather upset by it.

"Look, I have a job to do." he said, "But you can come with me if it'll help you find your sister." Robert didn't speak, he just nodded and crossed his arms as if waiting for him to lead the way. Booker sighed, "Try to keep up." he turned away and began his trek through the city.

"You'd think they'd clean this place up a bit." he heard Robert mumble as the walked around a pile of trash. "Mr. DeWitt." Booker ignored him choosing instead to navigate through the increasingly large amount of trash. "Mr. DeWitt!" Robert hissed.

"What?" Booker snapped. He turned around to see Robert crouching behind a trash can, "What the hell are you doing?" Robert motioned for him to join him and when Booker didn't join him, he pointed anxiously to something on top of a building. Booker turned around and noticed the birdlike creature perched on top of the building behind him.

"I wouldn't worry, it appears to be asleep." Robert said, "But just get out of sight anyway." Booker nodded and crouched behind the trash can with Robert, "That's songbird, the girls guardian." he explained.

"What girl?" Booker asked.

"The girl you're looking for." Robert replied, "It'll kill anything that tries to get to her."

"It looks like some guy in a weird bird costume." The thing couldn't be too hard to handle, it looked relatively small, but maybe that was because it was on top of a tall building.

"A bird?" Robert repeated, "I always saw it as a gargoyle of sorts."

"Really? How do you know so much about it?" Booker asked suspiciously.

"It would be better if we were safely inside to explain." Robert said, "I believe that it's waking up, and it wouldn't take well to your presence." Robert crouched further, "Let's go Mr. DeWitt." Robert stood slowly and backed into an alley, motioning for Booker to follow. Booker cast one last glance towards the bird before following Robert into the alley. "You know, Songbird's design always intrigued Rosalind." Robert said as he looked for a place to rest, "She used to stay up all night recording her theories about what it was, I always assumed it was a robotic creation. Of course the mechanics of it couldn't be that simple, that's what Rosalind would say. I believe she thought the creature had too much intelligence to be a robot. It has to be artificial, because it's actions were so easily controlled by that song. Not only that but-"

"Stop." Booker interrupted him, "What are you rambling about?"

"I'm sorry, I'm used to having conversations like this with my sister." Robert sighed, "Of course they would turn into arguments, but I think she liked it that way." he wiped his forehead and leaned against the wall, "Are you ready to rest for the day?"

"Already? We've barely been walking for 10 minutes." Booker said, "We'll never find your sister if you can't walk for more then 10 minutes."

"Oh please, I'm just used to jumping between probabilities when I need to get somewhere. I'm far more fit then Rosalind is." Robert rolled his eyes.

"But that's still not very fit." Booker noted.

"I'm a scientist." Robert said as if that was a logical excuse.

"I don't want to spend too much time in this place." Booker said. Robert looked away and began to play with his tie.

"It's getting dark." he said, "The lights are going off and Songbird is waking up." Booker had noticed the town getting darker, but he hadn't though much of it. From the looks of things, they were underground and he just assumed that the darkness was due to him moving away from the entrance."I feel we should be inside before it gets too dark." Robert said slowly, "Or we'll come face to face with those insane murderers I spoke about."

"Fine." Booker said, realizing that Robert was right, "But you're telling me what the hell is happening once we get to safety." Booker was more then sure he could handle anyone who came his way, but Robert looked as if he'd be a lost cause when it came to fighting. They trekked through the alley with Robert examining doors to see if they were unlocked. Booker himself slowly became aware of the figures darting through the shadows around him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see people peering over the rooftops and darting away whenever he tried to look at them.

"Finally." Robert exclaimed as he found a door that was open.

"Don't just rush in there." Booker grabbed his arm as he stepped forward, "You don't know who's in there."

"Go in there and get rid of them then." Robert said, "But I can guarantee that there are less of them in there then out here." Robert shrugged off his grip and entered the building, "Are you coming?"

Booker glanced back at the moving shadows closing in from behind and rushed inside with Robert. He closed the door behind him and locked it. "It's just a storage room." Robert said. But Booker could see through his façade. Robert was nervous about everything and Booker could tell.

"Watch out!" Booker ducked down and watched as Robert crouched down and covered his head, "Really? You never stay out in the open around an enemy." Booker held in a laugh as he got up.

"Like I said, I'm used to jumping across probabilities when I need to get somewhere, I've never had to hide from violence." Robert said as he realized that there was no danger. Booker took a seat on the floor and got comfortable, it was slightly cooler inside.

"Alright, explain. What the hell is going on? And why do you keep mentioning jumping across probabilities?" Booker asked. Robert began to make a makeshift bed out of the tables and boxes.

"It's not what I'm used to…" he mumbled to himself as he sat down, "Alright, listen closely because I will not be repeating myself." He paused and looked to his right before looking down at the floor, "Sorry, here we go…"

"Get on with it." Booker urged.

"I don't usually do this, you'll have to excuse me. My sister was always better at explaining things." Robert sighed, "But we've met before you see." Booker nodded and Robert continued with his story.

0.o.0.o.0

"This town is called Hephaestus, it's the home to the worst of the worst. I don't know much about this place or how it was created." Robert swallowed as he finished up the story, "I was in the middle of extensive research when I lost her." Robert watched Booker and surveyed his reaction. The only other time he'd seen the man confused was when Elizabeth revealed the truth to him. "Do you understand, Booker?" he asked.

"I… remember…" Booker slowly took in the information, "Elizabeth… Anna… Where's Anna?" he asked urgently. Robert was a little relieved, he'd originally expected Booker to completely reject his explanation. It seemed his memories weren't buried as deeply this time around.

"She's here." Robert answered. Although he couldn't say where. He hadn't had the time to locate her before everything he was used to malfunctioned.

"The picture in the box… she was a young girl…" Booker said, "But she was in her twenties before."

"I told you, I didn't have the chance to research it." he sighed. Maybe Rosalind had gotten a little further in her searching's then he did. If she was even okay. What if she'd gotten lost between dimensions? He'd never see her again. She'd mention before that she would be lost without him, but he had a feeling she was doing a lot better then he was at the moment.

"I could have Anna… as a kid." Booker mumbled to himself.

"You could." Robert nodded. And that was what he wanted, for Booker to have his child. And he would help them come together if it was the last thing he did.

"Rosalind will be okay." Booker started, "We'll find her too." Robert was silent. Booker didn't seem to understand what was happening to them.

"What if she isn't in the same reality?" Robert asked, "What will I do then?"

"Anna can open tears," Booker said, "She'll take you to her." He could hear the pity in Booker's voice and it shamed him to think of how he must have looked to Booker. Those thoughts were always overshadowed by worry. Rosalind had a large brain and was mentally strong, but she was small and weak. It would be easier for someone to take advantage of her. And he knew several people down here who would gladly take advantage of her.

Arthur Williams, a serial killer who targeted young woman. Damon Cobens, a serial rapist who had no preferences, but would gladly strike upon seeing Rosalind. Timothy Vans, a man who kidnapped 4 woman, raped and tortured them before brutally murdering them. What was going to keep Rosalind from becoming the next victim to a psychopath? He needed to find her, before it was too late.

"Robert." Booker broke him out of his thoughts, "Rest. We'll start looking tomorrow." Robert nodded and laid down on the table. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed, he wouldn't be resting at all. Not with Rosalind out there in an unknown place.

"What if it's too late by tomorrow?" he asked, "What if she's gone by then?"

"She won't be." Booker sighed. He sounded annoyed, so Robert decided to stay quiet. She would be fine, she was smart enough to recognize danger and she would be able to get away from anybody who tried to do her harm.

"Booker, she's wearing heels, she won't be able to outrun anyone." he said.

"She'll be fine." Booker replied, "Take a nap." Robert glanced over to him, he was sitting on top of a crate and watching the door. Robert recognized this as the same position he would take when Elizabeth needed a break in Columbia.

"Maybe you should take one too." he suggested, "You were in a train crash."

"I've survived worse." Booker kept his replies short, indicating that he didn't want to talk anymore. But Robert couldn't rest, he needed to talk to keep his mind off of Rosalind.

"What if she's hurt," he said, "What if one of those monsters out there took her?" He waited for a response but got none, "Mr. DeWitt?"

"Man up, Lutece." Booker said, "She's fine." his tone was final and Robert stayed quiet.

0.o.0.o.0

Rosalind blinked as she found herself lying on top of a pile of posters. She remembered being with Robert, walking away from Booker and trying to enter the city without the special code and then… nothing. She sat up and looked around, "Brother?" she called and was filled with terror when he didn't answer. They'd been separated obviously and that wasn't good. She closed her eyes and took a breath, this wasn't the first time they'd been separated, but usually they would be reunited in a matter of seconds. The fact that Robert hadn't come when she called either meant he'd somehow gotten hurt, or he'd lost the ability to jump across the probability field.

"She's awake." someone whispered. Rosalind opened her eyes.

"Who's there?" she asked calmly. If it was an enemy, she would not let them know she was scared. Not that she was scared, just cautious. She was unarmed and unaware of their surroundings, she had to be cautious.

"Don't try to fight back." the same person said, "We don't want to hurt you."

"I doubt you'd be able to hurt me." she said. Although she wasn't quite sure of that. The fact that she wasn't immediately able to bring herself to Robert implied that she might have been able to get hurt as well. "Where are you?" she glanced around, careful not to make herself look too eager in case they were watching her behavior. She tried to stand but somehow ended up stumbling and falling to the ground. A gasp escaped her lips as she realized that she'd scraped her hand on the ground. Yes, she could be hurt, and that implied that she might possibly be rooted to the universe she was in at the moment and that was a subject she did not want to explore.

"Help her up." someone said. Rosalind watched as someone stepped out of the shadows and began limping towards her. She bit her lip and tried to hide her increasing anxiety, she could not show any fear.

"Don't touch me." she said, "I'm more then capable of getting up myself." But she wasn't, because she was feeling something she hadn't felt since her supposed "death" long ago. She was dizzy and wasn't able to stand on her own two feet without stumbling and falling. Maybe without the heels she would be okay, but she wouldn't take them off, not yet. "Who are you?" she looked up at the man and held in a gasp as she looked at upon his face.

There was a bandage wrapped around his left eye, but from under the bandage protruded several large boil like structures. The eye that was visible was a milky white orb that seemed to be sinking into his head. Her eyes were drawn to his lip, which was swollen and sagging down to his chin, revealing a the bottom row of his teeth. "I can help." he said. The man reached for her and she fought the urge to gag, she didn't want him touching her with his deformed hands.

"I said don't touch me." she snapped, "I can stand myself." She pushed herself away from him and stood. She wobbled a bit before steadying herself. "Now, where am I?" she asked the man.

"Rapture." he answered. Rosalind nodded the underwater city that had recently been relocated to Hephaestus. What did she know about Rapture? There's been a civil war there, a lot of people died and a lot more developed a strange addiction to "Adam". Those people were called Splicer's and that was the most logical explanation to what this man was. But the last time she and Robert had been to Rapture, it was completely empty and broken down. What exactly was the point of moving it? Robert had just asked that before they were separated. The Splicer cleared his throat and she looked at him.

"How did you get here?" she asked. The man reached for her again and she swatted his hand away. As her hand connected with his flesh, she noticed that there were several lacerations on them. Some of them looked to be infected, "Don't touch me!" she took a step back and realized just how fast her heart was beating, "If you attempt to touch me again, I will be forced to hurt you." But what exactly could she do to him? He was bigger then her and undoubtedly stronger.

"We saved you." it sounded more like a question. As if the Splicer was asking himself why they decided to save her.

"From what?" she asked, "I think you should have left me where I was." Or maybe it was good that she'd been "saved". Robert mentioned that the place had become America's dumping ground for anyone who didn't fit their social code. For the murderers, the rapists, the child molesters, anyone who wasn't wanted above. A women like her wouldn't have stood a chance out there. She snapped back to reality just as the man put his hand on her cheek. She took a step back and glared at him,"What did I just say?" she snapped.

"Put her in the cage." someone else stepped out of the shadows, "A nice one, I think we'll be able to make use of her later." This man was normal, and that just unsettled her even more. She knew she could outrun the Splicer, maybe, but this one didn't seem to have any deformities at all.

"I can't stay here." she said, "My brother is waiting." At least she hoped he was. She didn't know what she would do if he was rooted in a different universe again. She wouldn't be able to get him back, not without her machine. Maybe if she made her way to Columbia, she'd find the remnants of her lab. She could try to fix it and find him again.

"And you want me to release you into the wild? With the False Shepherd of Columbia and the psychopaths of Hephaestus?" the man laughed, "You wouldn't last a moment out there. They'd tear you apart, little lady." The man snapped his fingers and the other man grabbed her.

"Let me go." she gritted her teeth and struggled, but he was stronger then she was.

"Don't fight. These Splicer's have no self control, you could end up dead if he snaps." the man laughed as she calmed herself and allowed the Splicer to lead her away.

"We don't want to hurt you." the Splicer said. Rosalind remained silent, she was sure she'd be able to escape from whatever cage they put her in.

0.o.0.o.0

And now we have Robert and Rosalind! I love them and Rosalind seems easier to write then Booker is. There isn't a lot to go on with the Lutece's because they were there for so little time. But I think this is how they would act. Rosalind is more panicked about her location, but I'm sure she'll freak out once she realizes just how far away Robert is. And Robert will be a man and go get her because Booker said to.

I know I said Elizabeth would be here, but it's too early. Sorry. I made a map of Hephaestus, and it's going to take a while for Booker to get all the way through it and to Columbia, where Elizabeth is. OR I could skip over all of that and bring him there, that would be better. They'll meet soon, rest assured my people.


End file.
